Apple to use strong ARM tactics to drop Intel?

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You would have thought that, with the introduction of the new Sandy Bridge iMac range this week, that all was well with the Apple / Intel relationship.

But not so, according to tipster SemiAccurate, who states that the word from 1 Infinite Loop is that Apple will be ditching Intel chips in the near future in favour of ARM based processors.

ARM chips are produced by Nvidia, and also the likes of Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Sharp and Samsung, and can be found in many mobile devices including phones and tablets.

The architecture is used in iOS devices already, and with 64-bit core chips on the way (by mid-2013) - the move to a new platform could well be on the cards for Apple.

Pocket-lint reported back in January how Nvidia is one of the companies looking to take ARM architecture to the PC, but with Apple and Nvidia having a squabble in the past over faulty GeForce 8600M GT graphics adapters - it's unlikely that these chips will be finding their way into Apple machines.

Whoever does get the nod though (and it could well end up being an in-house job) it will be a major kick in the teeth for Intel.